Hugo Who?

In other Hugo news, the 2006 Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, went to the Doctor Who 2-parter comprised of "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances." Jolly good, that.

Joss Whedon is My Master

My fellow Whedonites might be interested to know that
Serenity was awarded the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. Shiny, eh? The icing on the cake for me was Joss Whedon's trademark hilarious-but-touching acceptance speech, which was read by Morena Baccarin.

Close Encounters of the Cycling Kind

It appears that Brian, like me, has been having dramatic encounters with drivers while biking.

Robots in Disguise

Fans of the Transformers seem to grow ever more alarmed about the upcoming film each time more information leaks out. Most recently, said fans appear to be unhappy with the drawings of Megatron's Cybertronian form that have just appeared online. Die-hard fanatics are most outraged that Megatron is an "alien jet" rather than a gun, as he was way back in Generation One and the original TV series, but I'm not surprised; toymakers Takara and Hasbro are shy about marketing handguns or rifles in this day and age. Most of the other objections to Megatron's design---and to the designs of all the Decepticons and Autobots---center on the baroque anime-like styling. I'm not offended by that; I guess I'm not a real fan.

By the way, Megatron's earthly form has not shown up on the interweb yet. Time will tell what that will look like.

Oh Rye On

In other space news, NASA has announced that the Crew Exploration Vehicle, which it is devloping to carry astronauts back to the moon and eventually on to Mars---syeah, right---will be known as Orion.

Obscure Material

Speaking of proof, NPR recently alerted me to the recently published evidence that dark matter, the mysterious stuff that seems to make up the majority of the matter in the universe (but not the majority of the universe), does indeed exist.

More Proof

Here is more proof that people are idiots. As if we needed more confirmation, right?

Religion and Sexism

This is just stupid.

More Than Meets the Eye

Those in our readership who are nerds and where born between 1970 and 1980---which is pretty much all of you---are probably curious to know exactly how Michael Bay is going to ruin the upcoming Transformers movie, which is creatively titled Transformers and should not be confused with 1986's Transformers: The Movie. Although many fans were gratified to learn that Peter Cullen will be reprising his original-series role as the voice of Optimus Prime...I mean, Optimus Prime---and I must say I agree with that move---they were shocked, shocked that Bumblebee is going to be a 2009 Camero rather than a Bug---which frankly doesn't bother me. Anyway, I can't tell you how, precisely, the ruination will occur. I can, however, point you to these descriptions of the Transformer characters in the film and to these images of some of them, which look pretty good.

Shiny!

Are you a hard-core Whedon-ite? Do you bring a tree into your home and decorate it around the time of the December solstice? If so, you need this.

Hack This: Cat Feeders

Our readers who own cats---you know who you are---may be interested in this cool hack. It's a cat-sized hamster wheel which serves as a combination exerciser and feeder. If this gadget seems a little too low-tech for you, or your cats don't need the exercise feature, check out MAKE volume 3 for a programmable cat feeder built out of a VCR.

And in the Darkness Bind Them

Alison and I were wed this past Saturday, August 12 at the Liriodendron Mansion in Bel Air, Maryland. The weather was perfect, and both the ceremony and reception came off without a hitch. The "cast" of the wedding was as follows:

• Team Grondul: Alison and Michael, duh!
  
• Bride's Chick, First Class: Ashley, sister of the blushing bride
  
• Bride's Chick: Lisa
• Co-Best Dudes: Tom and Shuaib
  
• MC: The Reverend Doctor Nick
  
• Walking-the-Bride-Down-the-Aisle Guy: Frank, uncle o' the bride
• Poem-Reading Girl: Melanie
  

In addition to the above, I'd like to thank the following for helping make the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception go so well:

• Melinda
• Leah
• Amy
• Greg
• Ketan
  
• George
  
• Sharon, mother o' the bride
• Mary, auntie o' the bride
• Candace, auntie o' the bride
• Mickey, mother o' the groom
• Chuck, father o' the groom
• Lynn, cousin o' the groom

Update: For photos from the event, see this post.

You've Got Snakes

You may recall that I've mocked the title and storyline of Snakes on a Plane before, but I can't argue with internet buzz that the name alone seems to have produced. Well, it appears that the marking guys working on SoaP have struck again: Tom pointed me to this site, which allows the visitor to send an audio message (read: advertisement) to a friend by e-mail or cellular phone. That, in itself, is not exciting; the fun part is that the message is not only in the voice of Snakes headliner Samuel L. Jackson, but can also be humorously personalized with the name, interests, and appearance of the recipient. Give it a whirl.

Mmmm...Curry

Check it out: a small study indicates that (chemicals found in) curry and onions may help prevent colon cancer (in those already at risk). So, anyone who is skeptical about our rehearsal-dinner site shouldn't be; we're just looking out for your colon health.

39 Miles and 101 Degrees of Frazzing

Yesterday, despite the shockingly hot weather, I rode from our new place to the lab (about 8.5 miles), rode from the lab to my bike shop (about 4.5 miles), and then did my weekly group ride (about 26 miles). Alison did the 18-mile version of the group ride, but, fortunately for me, she drove to the start, which meant she could drive me home. By the time we got to the apartment, I was feeling like a wind-up toy that had woouuund doooowwwwn. After swallowing nearly every calorie in the kitchen I felt a little peppier, but only for half an hour or so. By 10:00, Alison and I were lying on the papasan and the couch, being absolutely still and struggling to pay attention to Dirty Jobs.

Here's a Frazz comic Alison found that illustrates our situation both well and humorously.

The Dark Knight Returns

Some key information about the upcoming sequel to Batman Begins has been officially announced:

• The film will be called The Dark Knight, which, as everyone knows, is a common nickname for the Batdude.
• Christopher Nolan will direct the film, using "a script by Jonathan Nolan, based on a story by...Nolan and David Goyer, who both wrote the screenplay for the previous film."
• The principal villain will be the Joker, and he will be portrayed by Heath Ledger. (There's no word on whether Dr. Harleen Quinzel will appear alongside her puddin', Mistah J.)
  
• Production is set to begin in early 2007, so I suspect the film will hit theaters in the summer of 2008.